Abstract:
“Oedipus complex”, “penis-envy”, “oral fixation”, and “interpreting dreams”. From the peering into the unconscious mind in the days of Sigmund Freud (Freud, 1940) to the deep questions of evil (Haney, Banks, Jaffe & Zimbardo., 1972; Milgram 1978), the field of Psychology has been enigmatic since its birth. Despite having clear useful applications (e.g. lie-detection, people management, etc.), the field is still regarded by many to be an ‘art’ rather than ‘science’. While psychology often relied on qualitative observation (Denzin & Lincoln, 2009), the field also utilized quantitative experimental analysis (see example: Brown & 21 Ryan, 2003), which had benefited from the use of computer programs e.g. E-Prime (Schneider et al., 2002), SAS Institute (2004), etc. The uses of these software are tantamount to high accuracy of data collected in certain sub-disciplines such as cognitive or neuropsychology where cognitive speed and response time are measured (see example: Truedsson et al. 2015.) More commonly, the use of surveys are highly prevalent and can be used to gather quantitative self-reported data (see examples: Gan, Lim, & Haw 2015; Yew et al. 2015) due to their ease of administration.
Although the use of “pen and paper” approach previously dominated data collection, modern day analysis and collection of data are increasingly performed by software that are not only more convenient, but give more accurate measurements. While these software expectedly help to calculate and crunch numbers for statistical analysis in quantitative research, they can also be used in qualitative research. Such qualitative targetted software include speech-to-text software for transcription of qualitative interviews, and video analysis software for body languages (Koch & Zumbach 2002).
Although useful, these computer programs and equipment also spatially bound researchers and participants by virtue of their immobility. The convenience is also further limited by the lack of suitable places for long interviews and psychological batteries (long psychology surveys with hundreds of items).
Fortunately, despite all these disadvantages, one modern invention holds the potential to revolutionize these practices – The Smartphone.
Two decades ago, the first smartphone by IBM captured everyone’s attention with its ability to incorporate the multiple functions into one small brick-like device. However, due to the price tag, only about 50,000 units were sold worldwide (Sager, 2012). However, technological advancements have since reduced cost, and its affordability now makes it prevalent throughout developed countries worldwide. These smartphones now act as mini-computers that can function on a variety of operating systems (OS) such as Android, iOS, Windows, Blackberry OS, etc. Like the desktop, every OS has their own unique market for applications and these have percolated to many areas of the modern life from travel to tracking family members and friends. Despite this, there is a dearth of apps to meet the needs of experimental psychology. This thus shows a gap for the commercial and academic development of psychological smartphone apps.